A variety of different types of scrapers have been available for the scraping of ice and snow from vehicle windows and for carrying out other hand scraping operations such as those involving the scraping of paint and wallpaper from walls and other surfaces. Conventional scrapers have a handle which is grasped in the hand and used to press the scraping edge of the tool against the surface that is being scraped. This manner of scraping exerts considerable stress on the wrist and requires the wrist to be flexed at various angles, thus frequently leading to wrist injuries. The force that can be applied to the surface is also somewhat limited because of the limited strength of the wrist, and this detracts from the effectiveness and efficiency of the scraping process. Fatigue of the wrist and hand is a common problem when extensive scraping is required.
The problems associated with conventional scrapers have been recognized, and efforts to improve the scraper design have been made. However, they have not been altogether successful either functionally or commercially. For example, the scraper shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,813,458 to Jacobucci has a construction presenting a curved scraper end that the forearm works against to increase the leverage. Because the thin edge of the curved scraper end contacts the forearm, full advantage of leverage is not taken, and the forearm is subject to bruises and other injury. The wrist must still be flexed at various angles, especially when a curved windshield or other curved or uneven surface is being scraped. The scraping is done wholly with a pushing stroke, and the return stroke does no work.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,888,846 to Natale discloses a scraper that is intended for use to scrape asbestos from vertical surfaces. Although a ring is provided for receiving the arm, the ring is not used for leverage but instead serves as a support intended to decrease the discomfort of the arm. The handle is held in a pistol grip fashion such that the scraping force is wholly applied through the wrist and hand with little if any leverage effect that makes use of the forearm. Again, the scraping is done entirely with pushing motion, and the wrist must be flexed at different angles as the work proceeds.
Problems similar to those involved in scraping processes are encountered with other operations that require the application of force by a hand held implement. These include scrubbing of floors, walls, tiles, vehicle surfaces and the like and sanding of wood, drywall, vehicles, and other surfaces. Typically, a different tool is required for each different application. Thus, an ice scraper is usually required for scraping vehicle windows, another type of scraper with a metal blade is required to scrape paint and other materials from walls, another tool is needed to carry out scrubbing, and still another device is required for hand sanding operations. The need for all of these different implements increases the cost and also creates problems relating to storage of the different tools when they are not being used and having them available when they are needed.